carefully curated

oxblood – “teenage crush iv” (ft. korallreven)

photo courtesy of the artist

oxblood’s latest single is the byproduct of reciprocated reverence and the creative friendship that subsequently bloomed. after the young producer expressed his admiration for swedish pop stalwarts korallreven in the summer of 2015, the two acts slowly began gravitating towards one another before finally colliding on “teenage crush iv.” it’s a beautiful, covertly celestial track, with percolating arpeggios and warm brass tones dominating the foreground while korallreven’s vocal line hovers slightly above, barely scraping the stratosphere.

“teenage crush iv” is a coming-of-age effort for oxblood and an unexpected but welcomed addendum to korallreven’s swan song, “here in iowa,” which marked the end of the duo’s tenure last fall. perhaps that’s why the repeated lyric of “afraid i’ll never see you again” towards the end of the track feels exceptionally poignant. hear “teenage crush iv” below.